LVMC named one of the nation's most improved hospitals

Improving patients’ perceptions of the care they receive has been a major goal of the hospital’s staff members since relocating last year from a 65-year-old building on Hickory Street to a brand-new facility on East Ocean Avenue.

“The problem with the old place was that it was old. You could have the best staffing in the world, but you can’t overcome backed-up plumbing,” Buch said. “I think the quality of the care was always there; it’s just that the perception wasn’t always there.”

Well, now it is.

Based on a patient survey conducted by NRC Picker, a national health-care research corporation, Lompoc Valley Medical Center is one of the most improved hospitals in the corporation’s national membership group.